The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $541,000 Investment in Versant Corporation $VSNT

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Versant in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Versant in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Versant during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Advocate Investing Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Versant during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Versant during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VSNT shares. Arete Research raised Versant from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Versant from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Versant in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Versant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Versant from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Versant has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.20.

Versant Price Performance

VSNT opened at $37.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.36. Versant Corporation has a 52-week low of $27.17 and a 52-week high of $59.00.

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts predict that Versant Corporation will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Versant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Versant’s payout ratio is currently 43.10%.

About Versant

Versant is a media and entertainment company formed through the separation of Comcast’s cable-network and digital-media businesses. The company operates a portfolio of television networks and related platforms that provide news, sports, entertainment and lifestyle programming to audiences in the United States and internationally.

Its brands include USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, E!, Syfy, Oxygen and Golf Channel. Versant also has digital and consumer-facing businesses associated with its media portfolio, including Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes and Xumo.